Glove that conforms to different finger sizes

ABSTRACT

A glove is provided with stretchable zones or sections on the finger portions of the glove to allow adjustable form fitted receipt of a wearer&#39;s fingers, while conforming to varying finger lengths of different wearers so that the glove finger portions do not extend beyond the tips of the wearer&#39;s fingers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This non-provisional patent application is based on provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 62/323,244 filed Apr. 15, 2016.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to gloves and, more particularly, to aglove having finger portions that are adjustable in length toaccommodate different hand sizes and finger lengths of users.

DISCUSSION OF THE RELATED ART

Men's and ladies' gloves typically come in sizes small, medium, largeand extra large. While these size categories generally accommodate thevarying hand sizes of the general population, the glove size is designedto accommodate a particular hand size, and not a specific finger length.In order to ensure that gloves fit onto the hands of most people of thesame hand size, the length of glove fingers are often longer than theuser's finger length. This results in extra material at the end of thefinger portion of the glove extending beyond the tips of the wearer'sfingers. In fact, glove manufacturers often design the finger length ofthe gloves to be longer than average so that the glove can be fittedonto the hands of both a person with longer fingers and a person havingshorter fingers.

The excess glove material extending from the ends of the finger portionscan be annoying, distracting and inhibit the intended function of theglove. For instance, excess material extending from the finger portionsof a golf glove when worn on a golfer's hand will interfere with theproper grip of the golf club. This excess material on the ends of thefingers of the golf glove can also be annoying and interfere with thegolfer's concentration. Moreover, excess material extending from theends of the fingers of a work glove can present a safety hazard. Inparticular, the excess material extending beyond the tips of a wearer'sfingers of a work glove can get caught in machinery or become pinchedbetween two objects, resulting in possible injury to the worker.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide a glove that includes fingerportions that automatically adjust to the length of a wearer's fingersso that the same size glove will fit properly on various users havingdifferent finger lengths. More specifically, there is a need for a glovethat is provided with stretchable zones on the finger portion of theglove to allow for adjusted, form fitted receipt of a wearer's fingers,while conforming to varying finger lengths of different wearer's so thatthe glove finger portions do not extend beyond the tips of the wearer'sfingers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a glove having individual fingerportions that conform to varying finger lengths of different users inorder to provide a proper fit without excess material of the fingerportions extending beyond the tips of the wearer's fingers. In apreferred embodiment, each of the finger portions of the glove includesa section of elastomeric stretchable material at least partiallyencircling the finger portion. This section or zone of stretchablematerial may be located at the base, the middle or near the tip of thefinger portion. The section of elastomeric material allows the fingerportion to extend in length in response to an outward force exerted bythe wearer's finger tip against an interior distal end of the fingerportion of the glove when the user fits the gloves onto their hand. Inanother embodiment, a section of elastomeric stretchable materialspirals around each finger portion to allow the finger portion to extendin length, as necessary, in order to accommodate different fingerlengths of wearers. In a further embodiment, one or more of the fingerportions may include two or three sections of stretchable materialbetween the base and the tip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention,reference should be made to the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a palm side of the glove of the presentinvention, in accordance with a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is plan view of a palm side of the glove of the presentinvention, in accordance with a second embodiment; and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a palm side of the glove depicting furtherembodiments of the invention.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several viewsof the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, and initially FIG. 1, the glove of thepresent invention is shown in accordance with a first embodiment and isgenerally indicated as 10A. The glove 10A includes a hand portion 12with a back side (not shown) and a palm side 14 and five fingerportions, including a thumb portion 20 and finger portions 21-24 whichinclude an index finger portion 21, a middle finger portion 22, a ringfinger portion 23 and a pinky finger portion 24. Each of the fingerportions 20-24 is provided with a stretchable zone 30 which allows thetips of each of the finger portions 20-24 to extend outwardly away fromthe hand portion 12 in response to a force exerted by the wearer'sfinger tips against an inner distal end of each of the respective fingerportions 20-24. In a preferred embodiment, the stretchable zones 30 areformed of an elastomeric material, such as a polyester-polyurethanecopolymer commonly referred to as “spandex,” “lycra” or “elastane.” FIG.1 also illustrates an embodiment of the invention wherein twostretchable zones 30 are provided on a finger portion, as seen on themiddle finger portion 22.

FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment of the glove of the presentinvention and is generally indicated as 10B. In this particularembodiment, each of the finger portions 20-24 is provided with aspiraling arrangement of stretchable zones 30 encircling the fingerportions. Each of the spiraling stretchable sections are formed of anelastomeric material to allow the distal ends of the finger portions toextend outwardly and away from the hand portion 12 of the glove inresponse to a force exerted by the user's finger tips against aninterior of the distal ends of the finger portions.

Referring to FIG. 3, further embodiments of the invention are shown,wherein the glove 10C may include two or more stretchable zones 30 onany of the finger portions 20-24. For instance, the finger portions20-24 may include two separate stretchable zones 30 (see FIG. 1 for thisexample) or three stretchable zones 30, such as one near the base of thefinger portion, one near the center of the finger portion and one nearthe distal tip of the finger portion. In a further embodiment, thestretchable zones may be at various locations on the finger portions.For instance, in one embodiment, the stretchable zones 30 may be locatednear the base (i.e., proximal end) of the finger portion, as seen on thering finger portion 23 in FIG. 3. Alternatively, the stretchable zones30 may be located near the center of each of the finger portions, asseen on the middle finger portion 22 in FIG. 3. In still a furtherembodiment, the stretchable zones 30 may be located near the distal tipsof the finger portions, as seen on the index finger portion 21 in FIG.3.

While the present invention has been shown and described in accordancewith several preferred and practical embodiments, it is recognized thatdepartures from the instant disclosure are fully contemplated within thespirit and scope of the present invention which is not to be limitedexcept as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A glove comprising: a hand portion; a pluralityof finger portions integral with and extending from the hand portion andincluding a thumb portion, an index finger portion, a middle fingerportion, a ring finger portion and a pinky finger portion, and each ofthe plurality of finger portions including a base and a distal tip; andat least one of the plurality of finger portions including a stretchablezone formed of an elastomeric material to allow the at least one fingerportion to extend in length in response to a force exerted at the distaltip of the at least one finger portion and away from the hand portion.2. The glove as recited in claim 1 wherein each of the plurality offinger portions includes at least one of the stretchable zones formed ofan elastomeric material for allowing each of the plurality of fingerportions to extend in length in response to a force exerted at thedistal tip and away from the hand portion.
 3. The glove as recited inclaim 1 wherein the at least one of the plurality of finger portionsincludes two or more stretchable zones formed of an elastomericmaterial.
 4. The glove as recited in claim 2 wherein each of theplurality of finger portions includes two or more of the stretchablezones.
 5. The glove as recited in claim 1 wherein the stretchable zoneon the at least one of the plurality of finger portions is formed in aspiraling configuration extending between the base and the distal tip ofthe at least one of the plurality of finger portions.
 6. The glove asrecited in claim 2 wherein the at least one of the stretchable zones islocated adjacent to the base of each of the plurality of fingerportions.
 7. The glove as recited in claim 2 wherein the at least one ofthe stretchable zones is located adjacent to the distal tip of each ofthe plurality of finger portions.
 8. The glove as recited in claim 2wherein the at least one of the stretchable zones is located between thebase and the distal tip of each of the plurality of finger portions. 9.The glove as recited in claim 1 wherein the glove is a golf glove. 10.The glove as recited in claim 1 wherein the glove is a batting glove forbaseball.
 11. The glove as recited in claim 1 wherein the glove is awork glove.
 12. The glove as recited in claim 1 wherein the glove is afootball glove.